Chicago weather: Strong thunderstorms down trees, bring large hail to parts of area
BATAVIA, Ill. (WLS) -- There was a threat for severe weather Sunday afternoon in parts of the Chicago area, including Cook County.
The strong storms quickly moved across the area, producing high winds and golf ball-sized hail.
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Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were in effect until for Cook, DuPage, Kane and DuPage counties, but they have since expired.
The scattered severe storms packed a punch, but there was no threat of any tornadoes, ABC7 Meteorologist Greg Dutra said.
Neighbors along a street in Batavia told ABC7 the storm came quickly, and so did the damage. A large tree split at the base, causing it to fall onto a home. It was one of many trees in the area that came down when heavy rains and wind whipped through the town.
Diane Anderson and Patrick Sommerfeld had just said goodbye to friends outside when the rain started coming down Sunday afternoon.
Anderson said she got in her car to try and offer them a ride when a downpour of rain and wind hit their neighborhood.
It just looked like somebody took green confetti and threw it up. All the way through the neighborhood, either blocked by a tree or blocked by water.Diane Anderson, Batavia resident
"The rain was coming so bad and so noisy and loud that I didn't know what was hitting me," Anderson said.
The storm was so powerful, Diane said she couldn't see the hail hitting her vehicle. At that time, her husband was watching the storm from their home.
"The first minute was rain, second minute was hail coming sideways and then you hear that locomotive-y thing you hear about," Sommerfeld said.
Sommerfeld said he heard a loud noise, and then a nearly 40-year-old tree came down, falling just shy of their front porch. He said he could barely see anything outside.
"This tree came down, I didn't even see it, because it was coming so fast sideways, you couldn't even see in front of your face," Sommerfeld said.
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Anderson said once the storm cleared, the aftermath could be seen everywhere.
"The streets were covered in green," Anderson said. "It just looked like somebody took green confetti and threw it up. All the way through the neighborhood, either blocked by a tree or blocked by water."
Another tree, down the couple's street on Bernadette Lane, fell onto a home.
In other parts of Batavia, there were reports of flooding and trees on cars and roads. Parts of Route 31 were shut down as crews tended to down power lines.
Neighbors said their power was out since the storm came through, and they were told it might not be back up until Monday morning.
In the city Cook County's storm warning included most of the South Side of Chicago, Dutra said.
